Tears and Stripes

Even though the NBA season is still extremely young, I am pleased to say I have witnessed a very distinct difference between this season and campaigns of the past: player complaints. Magic Point Guard, Jason Williams, will be missing Orlando's heavily publicized encounter with the Miami Heat tonight (which is Miami's home-opener) for making contact with an official. Williams was ejected from Thursday night's matchup against the Washington Wizards, for tugging on the arm of referee Tony Brothers, while arguing a call. The act itself may seem as demonstrative as a toddler tugging on their Mother's dress, but the rules clearly state that players cannot have any physical contact with an official. None.

The fact that Williams was suspended shows the NBA may actually be taking the necessary steps to clean up the endless whining and complaining that plagues virtually every game on the schedule. Now I'm not going to name any names here (*cough* Tim Duncan *cough*) but there have been countless instances after witnessing a bevy of eye rolls, arm raises, wrist slaps, and mouth-agape stares, that I wanted to sit an NBA player down and recite the "Act your age, not your shoe size" line until their ears are bleeding. Being a moderately average basketball player, I can honestly say I have been guilty of the same offenses on more than one occasion (My favorite player is Rasheed Wallace. What do you expect?). But I can also say from experience that all of these little gestures, tactics, and verbal outbursts simply don't work. If anything, they tend to work against you. Referees are not very open to criticism, so they definitely won't give a player the benefit of a close call, when two plays earlier that same player essentially told him a trained chimp could do his job better.

As aforementioned, I do understand the need to inform an official when the strong feeling is they have wronged your team, or even yourself. But there are better ways to convey your displeasure than showering a referee with boos and calling them blind. If we push back our anger and frustration for a moment we will realize the officials are people just like us, and they aren't trying to blow calls.

No matter what I say, a referee is always going to be the most unpopular person at a basketball game (unless LeBron is playing), but how professional players respond will ultimately decide the reactions of fans and younger players. Like it or not, NBA players are role models for aspiring basketball players, and high school/college players emulating their favorite ballers does nothing but continue the cycle of complaining. Disagreeing with an official is an inevitability, but acting like a professional should always be the standard.